at a West Seneca grocery store, two white males - one heavy set, beard, baseball cap, tan shorts and button down shirt and the second - baseball cap, jeans and plaid button down shirt. They appear to between the ages of early 30's to 40 YOA. The stole over $400 in merchandise.

So you want to be a Police Officer. All Police Officers in Erie County and most in New York State are Civil Service employees that need to have passed and ranked high on a competitive civil service examination for Police Officer/Deputy Sheriff- Criminal. Once you pass this test and are ranked there are a number of further tests that you must pass. Also in order to take this examination you need some minimum age and education requirements. The criteria and requirements to be a West Seneca Police Officer are listed below. Our standards meet and in most cases exceed the requirements established by the New York State Municipal Police Training Council for entry level police officers. Some of the requirements may differ with each municipality. Please check with Erie County Department of Personnelfor the exact requirements of the municipality in which you are interested.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: Applicants must be residents of the Town of West Seneca at the time of the written test and at the date of appointment. You must be at least 19 years old at the time of the test and at least 20 years old at the time of your appointment. All applicants must also have completed at least 60 credit hours of college with a minimum GPA of 2.0. The maximum age for taking the test is 35 years old unless you request an extension for military service. To see if you are eligible for this extension contact the Erie County Department of Personnel

FOLLOW UP TESTING:Upon successful completion of the written test, applicants are sent for a physical agility test. The physical agility requirements for successfully passing this portion of the testing process are based on standards set by the New York State Municipal Training Council. These requirements are vigorous and challenging. The standards are supplied to the applicants that are being sent for the test, ahead of time so that they may prepare. It is safe to say that you should be in good physical shape if you intend on becoming a police officer as the testing at this point is strenuous. When openings become available, the candidates are "canvassed" for the position. Medical testing will also be completed along with psychological examinations to determine fitness for duty.

BASIC TRAINING: Those persons that are hired by the Town of West Seneca Police Department must go through a probationary period of one year to 78 weeks. During that time the new officers receive basic police training through the Erie County Central Police Services Training Academy. Those officers that fail any portion of this course are dismissed from the department. Once this schooling is completed, the new officer works in a field training capacity in our department with a certified New York State Field Training Officer for a minimum of 10 weeks. Upon successful completion of this training the officer will be assigned normal patrol duties and responsibilities. At any time during the first year, the new officer may be dismissed from the department for failure to carry out their responsibilities.

GENERAL INFORMATION: The position of Police Officer is open to both males and females. The Town of West Seneca follows all the appropriate laws and standards established by the State of New York and the United States to guard against discrimination for any reason. Applicants are not discriminated against for any reason including race, gender or religion.Generally the Town of West Seneca Police Department does not accept transfers from other departments both inside and outside of New York State. For more information in this area applicants should contact Chief of Police Daniel Denz

TEST DATES:Applications are accepted up to one month prior to the examination date. For more precise information on the date of this test please contact the Erie County Department of Personnel.